


FOX+VIXEN

by icyvanity



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/M, Getting Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-21 23:25:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7409320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icyvanity/pseuds/icyvanity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiding anything from Andrew Minyard is a difficult and dangerous game. But, Aaron finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of a girl and he thinks he’s finally found something to fight for.<br/><em>alternatively: </em>Aaron and Katelyn in their Freshman Year</p>
            </blockquote>





	FOX+VIXEN

**Author's Note:**

> "Aaron and katelyn when they first got together freshman year and sneaking around cuz andrew" (prompted by [annedub](http://annedub.tumblr.com/))

There was a girl with braided hair who sat next to Aaron in his Bio 101 course. He knew she had an athletic scholarship, as he did—but the ribbons at the ends of her hair told him it was for cheerleading, rather than exy—and he’d seen her on their floor at Fox Tower. She talked under her breath about the teacher, and Aaron could barely hold his laughter back sometimes, much to her amusement.

“What?” she asked once, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

Aaron shook his head. “Nothing,” he said.

She smirked, as though she could see straight through him. “Liar.”

That day, that first day they talked about anything other than meiosis I versus meiosis II, was the day she left her notebook behind. Aaron knew she was the top student—from the professor’s announcements of her grandeur to the tests he saw passed back to her—but even she might not survive the unit test without her notes.

However creepy it sounded, the tests were the only reason he knew her name; glancing down at them, he noticed that she—Katelyn, according to the first one—received perfect scores on _everything_. She had a Vixens sticker on the front of her notebook, and he pressed it against his chest as he hurried out of the room.

He broke into a run as soon as he was outside, his lungs and legs used to the activity from Kevin Day’s obsession with the sport—which extended to all of his roommates; he made them run and train with him more than the rest of the team, though Andrew was the only one who dragged himself out of bed for midnight practices.

He could see her halfway across the quad, walking alone in the general direction of Fox Tower.

“Katelyn!” he yelled. She turned around, an expression of confusion flitting across her face as she recognized him.

He caught up to where she had stopped, and he all but shoved the notebook into her hands.

“What— _oh my god_. Thank you!” Katelyn clutched the notebook to herself, looking at Aaron in awe.

“I just thought—because of the test—your name was on one of the tests inside—sorry, I looked—”

Katelyn laughed, cutting off Aaron’s babbling. “Chill, Minyard,” she said. “You don’t have to apologize for common courtesy.”

“Oh.”

“Unless it wasn’t just that,” Katelyn said, casting a suspicious glance at him. He realized then that she was almost a head taller than him—not that that was an impressive feat—and also that he was wearing his jersey, too late.

“No, no. I swear. It was just me helping a fellow student out,” Aaron assured her hastily. If news got back to Andrew—

“Come study with me?” Katelyn asked.

“ _What_?”

“Two minds are better than one. I know you’re getting better grades than everyone but me. Why not?”

Aaron hesitated. Studying was safe, probably. He needed to keep his grades up to stay on the team and keep his scholarship, and he was already looking into Med schools for after graduation; they all wanted to see exemplary performance from the first semester of freshman year onwards.

“Sure,” he said slowly, “Why not?”

* * *

Aaron really needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut. Not only did he keep getting himself into arguments with Kevin at all hours of the night in their dorm—which usually ended with Nicky breaking them up as fast as he could before Andrew got involved—but he couldn’t talk to girls to save his life.

This much was made obvious on a chilly November day after his Bio class.

“I mean,” Aaron said, stupidly, “does cheerleading even count as a sport?”

Katelyn stared at him. What had he said? He was only trying to make conversation—

Katelyn kicked him _hard_ between his legs. Aaron went down, eyes watering and hands clamped down to protect himself.

“What—the— _fuck_ —” he choked out.

Katelyn leaned down so he could see the fire in her eyes. “I got the muscles to do _that_ from cheerleading. But, of course it isn’t a sport. It’s not as though we have conditioning or practice or games or competitions, right? They must have accidentally given me this full-ride.”

“I’m sorry,” Aaron said, looking up at her.

“I’m sure you are,” she said. Someone called her from across the hall. She stepped over his prone body, only sparing him one glance before walking over to her friends.

She didn’t speak to him for a week.

* * *

Aaron sighed as he sat at his desk. He had a huge test in three days, and Kevin had banned him from coming out with them and letting his mood spoil the evening; they’d lost a game against Binghamton that evening, and none of the others wanted to do anything but get drunk. They wouldn’t be back until Sunday, at least. It was rare to have the room all to himself. The peace and quiet surrounding him was unnerving. He almost gave up after just two hours. Maybe if he got himself a snack from the vending machine, he could focus on genetic mutations. Yes; those pretzel bits sounded enticing.

He’d just closed the door of the suite when he heard his name called from down the hallway.

“Minyard!” Katelyn had shouted, letting her voice carry as she walked over to him. She held a bottle in each hand, and raised one in a salute. “What are you doing on this fine evening?”

“Studying. I was just going to get some pretzels,” Aaron said.

Katelyn whistled. “Damn, you’re dedicated. I was just about to come see if you wanted to come down; we’re throwing a party.”

“But, we lost.”

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t party.”

Aaron sighed, “The test is worth a significant part of our grade.”

“You have a 105%. You know the material by heart. One night off isn’t going to kill you,” she said.

“I can’t date,” Aaron said, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets.

“That’s fine,” Katelyn said, not missing a beat. She offered one of the bottles to him. “It’s just a party, Minyard. No one’s making you date anyone.”

Aaron scowled. _Minyard_ was what Wymack called him when he got angry at the team, what his professors said when his work was less than perfect. “Aaron,” he said.

“What?”

“My name’s Aaron.”

Katelyn held out a hand, “All right, Aaron.”

He gripped it, not expecting to be dragged down the hallway toward the stairs as a consequence of formality.

“Katelyn, I really shouldn’t—” he began as they started down the stairs.

Katelyn whirled around, standing a step below him but still looking down at him. “Look, Aaron. If you don’t want to come to the party, then don’t. But don’t let it be because of something your brother said. You have to make your own choices.” She poked him in the chest to emphasize her words.

“You don’t know him—”

“I don’t have to. I’m not afraid of him.”

“You should be.”

The words hung in the dank air of the stairwell until they almost suffocated Aaron. Deep down, he could understand that all Andrew was trying to do was protect him.  But, he barely had the autonomy to go to class without his twin grinning viciously at anyone who came close to Aaron.

“You aren’t,” Katelyn said, her words echoing in the silence. “You’re just afraid of life.”

Aaron hated that she, that _anyone_ , could see that far into him—that she could read him like a damn book. Katelyn studied his face for a moment before turning around and continuing down the stairs. Her ponytail swing behind her like a pendulum; and Aaron decided to take that as a sign; she was right—it was time to living his life.

“Wait,” Aaron called out; Katelyn paused, looking back at him over her shoulder. He cleared his throat. “Maybe just one drink.”

Katelyn grinned and held her hand out to him. “You got it,” she said.

Aaron closed the distance and took it.

* * *

It took both Kevin and Nicky to keep Andrew from killing Seth after a particularly bad practice ended early with Aaron sprawled on the floor. He felt the beginnings of a bruise on his upper thigh, the width of Seth’s racquet.

“Andrew, I’m fine,” he called out exasperatedly. Andrew didn’t stop struggling against Kevin’s chest, but Aaron saw his sharp grin turned in his direction.

“Fuck off, monster,” Seth spit out, his bloody nose dribbling into his scowling mouth from where Andrew had hit him.

Dan crossed the court angrily, settling herself between them. Aaron tuned out the sounds of her lecture (about being a _team_ and the importance of helping, _not_ hindering each other). Aaron startled at the feel of a hand at his shoulder. Allison rolled her eyes, and dragged him to his feet.

“I’m taking him to get ice,” she called over her shoulder as she practically carried him off of the court. She lowered her voice to whisper into Aaron’s ear. “I really don’t want to listen to both Dan _and_ our lovely assistant coach go off on the two of them for an hour, do you? You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Where the _fuck_ —” Seth called out after them, but Dan raised her voice to be heard above his.

Allison adjusted herself so she could pull Aaron along with only one arm, and flipped Seth off with a perfectly manicured finger as they made it through the doors. Aaron had seen Allison get hurt enough times that he guessed she could find her way to Abby’s office by heart; while Andrew saw to Aaron’s safety, Allison seemed to throw herself into the action without a care to what happened to her. Maybe it was just one more way to tell her parents to fuck off. Maybe she just liked the rush that the danger brought.

Abby wasn’t in when Allison flipped on the light. She released Aaron to rifle through Abby’s overstocked first aid kit. By the time he hobbled over to the couch and sat down, she had found an ice pack. Allison chucked it at him and Aaron crushed it to life in his hands.

They were both silent for a few minutes, even as the team thundered past on their way to the locker rooms. Aaron glanced up once their footsteps faded away to find Allison staring at him, her head tilted to one side.

“What?” he demanded.

“Katelyn, huh?” Allison asked, looking appreciatively at Aaron. Aaron froze and Allison grinned at his response. “Oh honey; you’ve got it _bad_.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aaron hissed out, pressing the ice harder onto his leg. Allison scoffed; he glanced up at her, eyes narrowing at her grin. “Allison, I swear—”

“Chill, shortstack. Despite the joy it would bring me to start a riot on this team, I’m not going to expose your little fling to your murderous twin. Thank you, however, for giving me the insight into a new bet. You just made me $500, at _least_. None of the others think either of you are getting any action.”

“Fuck you, Reynolds.”

“Right back at you, Minyard,” Allison said, with a grin so vicious it put Andrew’s to shame.

* * *

“Come on—”

“It is _five_ in the morning on a _Saturday_. We had a game yesterday. How are you so alive?”

Katelyn chuckled at him, reaching back for his hand. Their hike ended in a clearing with a drop-off at one end, showing the campus in all of its slumbering glory. Katelyn dropped her bag to the ground and began pulling things out of it—blankets, a thermos, a steamy container of food, fluorescent compact cutlery, and a rather large stack of napkins. Aaron wasn’t quite sure how she’d fit everything inside.

“A picnic,” Aaron said.

Katelyn glanced up at it. “Yes. A picnic.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “You said we couldn’t eat in the dining hall or the quad. I thought this would be safe.”

Safe from what, she didn’t say; prying eyes, perhaps, or maybe Andrew’s manic grin.

She set the blanket down, and Aaron sank down onto it with a sigh. He pulled one of the other blankets around his shoulders. “If the team sees us—”

“So, we are an _us_?”

Aaron raised his brows at her. “Yes. Why? Did you think we weren’t?”

Katelyn sat down in front of him. “I mean, we never even discussed it. And I haven’t even kissed you—”

“Do you want to kiss me?” Aaron asked, interrupting her.

“Yes.”

“Then do it,” Aaron breathed, leaning forward slightly.

“You want me to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when Katelyn seized the blanket and tugged, pulling him forward and pressing their lips together at last. Aaron lost his balance and toppled onto her; he felt a laugh bubbling on her lips. She kissed him soft, then harder—it was like a test; of how he would do this, all the ways they could, how it felt so complete—the two of the pressed together on a plaid laughing, kissing and laughing until the sun rose.

* * *

“Where’ve you been?” Nicky hissed as Aaron sat down next to him. “I swear Kevin almost had a stroke.”

“Study session ran late,” he lied smoothly. “Sorry.” The last word was directed toward a fuming Kevin on Nicky’s other side. Andrew grinned at Aaron, as though he _knew_ , and Aaron sank back into the cushions.

“Alright, now that everyone’s _here_ ,” Wymack said, looking pointedly at Aaron, “we have to decide on a striker sub for next year. Even with Kevin on our line now—with Janie gone—that’s the only position we _need_ filled. Sure, it would be nice to have more than the bare minimum amount of players, but we’re Foxes; we’ll manage. Who knows—we could win championships, and then the ERC would have to let us expand the team.”

“Nice one, coach,” Allison jeered from her place on Seth’s lap. They weren’t fighting for this week and could barely keep their hands off of each other.  She caught Matt’s eye and grinned at him. “Wanna bet on it?”

Seth dragged a hand up her arm, and suddenly Aaron was in two places at once. He was here—thigh pressed up against Nicky’s, Kevin droning on about recruits—and he was back in Katelyn’s room—his head in her lap with her fingers in his hair, his lips pressed against the fingers of her other hand.

“—from Millport, Arizona. His coach sent me his video—” Wymack was saying.

Katelyn’s laughter echoed in his ears, over the comfortable chatter of her favorite TV show.

“Who needs parents, anyway?” Allison muttered under her breath, eliciting a chorus of “Hear, hear!”

Katelyn was curled up against him—

—Nicky shifted uncomfortably next to him.

Aaron glanced up, eyes meeting Allison’s instead of Katelyn’s; she flipped him off.

“It’s not only because he fits our standards. Kevin thinks he has potential,” Wymack said, nodding at Kevin in appreciation.

Seth jabbed a finger in Kevin’s direction, ignoring Andrew straightening up beside him. “Kevin can suck a—”

“He has more potential than your pessimistic ass,” Kevin said dryly. “I watched his tape; he plays like his life is on the line. If he works hard enough, he could have a spot at Court.”

Now it was Aaron’s turn to be uncomfortable. He knew that most of their team was interested in staying in the exy leagues after graduation, but all Aaron had on his mind was med school. An athletic scholarship was the only way he was able to survive at PSU; it was simply means to an end.

* * *

“Maybe you can visit next summer. Things could change.”

Aaron thought Katelyn was too hopeful, but perhaps that was what he liked about her. He took a deep breath. “You don’t mind?” he asked, expecting the worst even though he knew it wouldn’t come.

Katelyn shoved his shoulder lightly. “No, dumbass,” she said with a smile. “I don’t mind waiting for things to cool down. Andrew’s supposed to come off of his medication next summer; you never know—he could be completely fine with this.”

Aaron shook his head vigorously, “I don’t think you know Andrew very well.”

“That’s true. People do change though, Aaron. You were _definitely_ more of a stuck-up asshole when I first met you. Look at you now.”

Aaron tilted his head, “What about me now?”

Katelyn looked at him for a moment—longer than just one. They were standing in the parking lot of Fox Tower, which was practically empty considering how many athletes had already gone home for the summer. They would text and call, but Aaron wanted to delay her departure for as long as he could. Unfortunately a taxi was starting up the long drive to the parking lot, and they only had minutes left with each other.

Katelyn wrapped her arms around him, leaning down to press their foreheads together. “You’re happier now, aren’t you? Not just because of me, but because you’re more at peace with yourself.”

Katelyn knew about his mother’s death, about his childhood without Andrew, about Andrew being drugged after trying to save Nicky’s life. Aaron wasn’t at peace, but he’d come a long way since the beginning of the year.

“I think a lot of that _was_ you, actually,” he said honestly.

The taxi came and left with Katelyn, leaving Aaron alone amid the few cars. He sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets; he didn’t want to go back to his dorm, with his cousin and brother and Kevin Day. He wanted to stay in that moment with Katelyn, where he was sure he was happy. Aaron’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out, and chuckled at the text on the screen.

_Have a great summer!_

A second later, another text appeared on the screen.

_(I’ll be back in a few weeks so stop moping and go kick Nicky’s ass at Halo)_

Aaron smiled at his phone and then pocketed it. He took one deep breath, before turning around and heading back inside.

**Author's Note:**

> [read on tumblr](http://lady-gryffindor.tumblr.com/post/148299918978/i-have-a-prompt-aaron-and-katelyn-when-they-first)


End file.
